Health care has become a highly regulated activity. Physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, pharmacists, chiropractors, dentists, and the like (collectively referred to hereinafter as "health care providers") are subject to many laws and regulations governing various aspects of health care, both on the municipal, state and federal level. Exemplary laws and regulations include, but are not limited to, licensure, medical records, informed consent, confidentiality, licensure exceptions, exclusions and exemptions, and disciplinary laws.
Health care providers practicing in more than one legal jurisdiction (e.g., two or more states) may need to be cognizant of the laws and regulations governing health care in each jurisdiction. For example, a home care nurse employed with a home care agency in southwestern Michigan may visit patients across the state line in a neighboring legal jurisdiction, such as Indiana or Illinois. The home care nurse typically will be required to adhere to the laws governing health care in each of these legal jurisdictions. However, Illinois may have a law governing scope of practice that is drastically different from the governing law of Indiana. Because there is not a uniform set of health care provider laws, a health care provider is typically held accountable under the laws of each legal jurisdiction. Unfortunately, staying abreast of all statutes, rules and regulations governing health care, especially for many legal jurisdictions, may be a difficult task.
In addition, a health care provider may need to be aware of laws and regulations of other legal jurisdictions even when the health care provider does not physically enter into another legal jurisdiction. With the advent of telemedicine (also referred to as "telehealth" for practitioners other than physicians), a physician examining a patient in Montana may wish to "consult" with a medical specialist in Minnesota. Using telemedicine equipment (i.e., computers, cameras, monitors, phone lines and the like) the patient in Montana may be able to be effectively "examined" by the medical specialist in Minnesota via real-time audio and video transmissions. Many states currently have laws stating that any health care provider caring for a patient within the state must be licensed in the state. Thus, the medical specialist in Minnesota may need to be licensed in Montana. Unfortunately, it may be difficult and time consuming for the medical specialist in Minnesota to stay abreast of the laws in another legal jurisdiction, such as Montana, before rendering health care to a patient.
As more and more health care providers are faced with practicing across state lines, a need for quickly and accurately determining the legal requirements within a particular legal jurisdiction exists. Furthermore, health care providers intending to provide medical services via telemedicine may find it difficult to stay abreast of all the statutes, laws and regulations of all fifty states, as well as the various municipalities that regulate health care. However, without knowledge of the law, health care providers may find themselves in violation of various statutes, rules and regulations.
Keyword searches of databases containing laws of various legal jurisdictions may not return complete and accurate listings of all laws relating to the keywords. One reason for this is that different terms may be used for the same item. For example, one legal jurisdiction may use the term "telemedicine" in its laws. Another legal jurisdiction may use the term "electronic diagnosis" in lieu of the term "telemedicine." Accordingly, unless a user knows all possible terms that can be used for a particular item, keyword searches are subject to inaccuracies and incomplete search results.